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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27227626">Boogers are the Path to the Dark Side</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chamaelirium/pseuds/Chamaelirium'>Chamaelirium</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, Force Bond, Hurt/Comfort, Kylo has a cold, Not very inappropriate use of the Force, Sweet, man flu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:08:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,683</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27227626</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chamaelirium/pseuds/Chamaelirium</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kylo has the man-flu. Rey is sympathetic.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Boogers are the Path to the Dark Side</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>BOOGERS ARE THE PATH TO THE DARK SIDE</p>
<p>Kylo Ren, Jedi Killer, leader of the First Order and Supreme Leader of the Galaxy, was sick. </p>
<p>He lay in bed, his stupidly hard and uncomfortable bed, with its stupid scratchy sheets and dumb pillow, trying his best to curl into as small a ball as possible. The temperature in his room was supposedly set to the perfect ambience, however tonight it felt chilly, like an icy breeze swept over him and crept through every gap. He fought not to shiver, feeling it was undignified and not befitting his position as leader of the known galaxy. </p>
<p>A fire burned in his throat, every swallow was agony, and he could feel the left side of his sinuses inexorably filling with unspeakable muck. A sneeze attempted to escape but he stifled it with some force - which then caused his ears to pop. </p>
<p>Come to think of it, it was an insult of the gravest kind for any virus or bacteria to even consider invading his body. He tried, for a moment, to speak sternly to the midiclorians that were supposedly inhabiting his very cells, upset that they had allowed such an intrusion. </p>
<p>When no answer was forthcoming, he pouted, feeling the heat in his cheeks even as his hands and feet were icy. Why couldn’t he get comfortable? Why was he so cold? Where was the med droid? Was Hux about to run the ship into the heart of a sun or had they crash landed on an ice planet?</p>
<p>He was so wrapped up in his discomfort that he failed to notice the lack of noise in the room, even the background hum of the engines disappearing. In the vacuum that followed he heard a voice, a voice that he had not heard since they had parted ways in Snoke’s throne room. </p>
<p>“Wait, what? How is this even happening? I thought I closed off my side of the bond.” </p>
<p>“G’way, Rey.” Kylo mumbled, pulling the blankets even further over his head and sniffling, loudly. </p>
<p>“Excuse me? How dare you tell me to go away when I didn’t want to be here in the first place. Wait... are you crying?” Kylo heard footsteps walking over the hard floors towards his bed, and held as still as he could. An interminable tickling began at the back of his nose, but despite his best efforts to quell it, a sneeze shook his entire body. Even he was startled at the loudness.</p>
<p>“Are you sick? Is that really a thing that happens? The mighty Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader of the galaxy, has a cold?” </p>
<p>“Go away!” He tried to sound commanding, imperious, but this was always difficult to achieve when you were a blanket burrito who just wanted to die in peace. Kylo’s whole body spasmed when he felt a hand touching him through his blankets. The bond that had lain quiet between them now roared back into life, and he felt every atom of air that she was touching between them. He tried in vain to hold onto the blanket when she dragged it down over his face, but his grip was weaker than he suspected. A full body shiver shook him as skin was exposed to the air, and a second, deeper tremor went through him as he felt Rey’s warm, soft hand resting itself on his forehead. He cracked one eye open. </p>
<p>She was kneeling next to his bed, more beautiful that he remembered, dressed all in layers of white and with golden skin showing between, his angel, his Rey. </p>
<p>He must have said some of this aloud because Rey coloured, and took her hand away. “I’m not your Rey. Certainly not an angel.” She stood, looking around the sparse, utilitarian room. “Lovely place you’ve got here. Very... welcoming.” She wandered over to one of the control panels, leaning forward to read what was on it. A few moments of fiddling with the screen and a satisfied “there!” The air that now flowed over his was appreciably warmer, and his delirious mind rejoiced in this simple pleasure. Now he could keep his face out from under the covers and watch Rey all he desired. </p>
<p>Rey walked back over to him, and stood with her arms crossed, looking grim. “Listen, we’re still enemies, you understand? This doesn’t change anything. It’s just that you look so... pitiful. Oh bloody hell.” He whimpered, still struggling to find a comfortable position in his tangled up blankets, as they’d managed to wrap themselves around his legs as he struggled. </p>
<p>“Don’ haveto stay if y’ don’ wanna.” He grumbled, trying to straighten himself out. He was warm, so warm, but still shivered all over. With a long suffering sigh Rey bent over his bed once more, tugging the blankets out from beneath him and doing what she could to lay them over him in a less chaotic manner. She was just smoothing the covers over his arms when one hand shot out, and grabbed her by the wrist. She held perfectly still as he tried to tug her down towards him.</p>
<p>“Know you don’ want me. I know. Stay, just for a lil’? Miss you.” A tide of bright red began to creep its way up Rey’s face at his words, and she gently pulled his fingers away from her arm, tucking his hand back under the covers. </p>
<p>“You’re clearly delirious. I’ll have you know it’s only on behalf of your mother that I’m doing this.” At the mention of his mother, tears began bubbling up and overflowing down his face. This lead to ever increasing amounts of mucus clogging his nose as he found himself crying like a child. Memories of his mother looking after him when he was sick, cooling his forehead with a wet cloth, making him hot broth when he didn’t have any appetite, stroking his back when he couldn’t sleep. Holding him in the dark when the voice of Snoke became overpowering and he was too afraid to close his eyes. </p>
<p>“Mother...” Kylo buried his face into his pillow, not wanting Rey to see him like this, ashamed that in his weakness he couldn’t suppress his emotions. This had the unfortunate effect of making him feel even more like he was suffocating, and he was forced to gasp for air after a few moments. Once again his entire body jolted when he felt a hand rest itself in his forehead, stroking his hair back from his sweaty face. </p>
<p>“Ben... what in the name of Kriff am I supposed to do with you.” He cracked one eye open, swollen from tears and sickness, and saw her sitting on the edge of his bed. </p>
<p>“Don’ have to do ‘nything. I d’serve to suffer. ‘M a monster.” </p>
<p>He heard her sigh heavily. “Listen... you’re not a monster. You were... misled. Lied to. Made to believe things that weren’t true.” Another sigh. “Look, I’ll just... I’ll just sort a few things out before I go, alright? That’s all. Then we’re back to being on different sides.”</p>
<p>“‘M not on ‘nyone’s side.” He felt her stand again, and watched as she walked over to a panel on the wall, once again concentrating deeply and typing in a series of commands. Time was passing strangely, in jumps and starts. One moment he was watching Rey intently, and the next there was a buzzing at the door, and Rey was nudging him with an urgent whisper.</p>
<p>“You need to open the door. I can’t do it, it’ll be kind of obvious that I’m not supposed to be here.”</p>
<p>With a long suffering groan, Kylo swung his legs over the edge of the bed, fighting against a wave of dizziness that threatened to overcome him. Wrapping a blanket around his shoulders, he shuffled to the door, the coldness of the polished floor seeping into his feet and making him shiver. When it hissed open, a trooper stood there, some sort of wheeled cart in front of him. </p>
<p>“Sir?” The trooped sounded a little confused. “Here are the supplies you, uh, ordered, sir.” </p>
<p>Kylo struggled to summon some of his usual authority. “Just put them inside. Then leave.” It must have been effective enough, as the trooper wheeled it just inside the door as quickly as he could. At the last second Kylo remembered that Rey was in the room as well, and spun around to see if she was visible. The effort made the room spin, and the trooper look at him oddly (as far as the tilting of a helmet could be interpreted), but Rey was nowhere in sight. </p>
<p>The door hissed closed once again and Kylo was left teetering in the doorway. He wondered if the bond had closed and he was alone once more. Feeling a kind of despair wash over him, he abandoned the cart and tried to stagger his way back to bed. He was halfway there when another wave of dizziness threatened him, and he felt the room begin to tip sideways as it went dark around the edges.</p>
<p>Strong arms caught him around his waist, and he heard a soft “oof” from Rey as she took as much of his weight as she was able, shuffling with him across the room. Once they reached his bed she lowered him down, perhaps less gracefully than could have been managed by himself were he not unwell. He landed on the mattress with a thud, rolling onto his side. </p>
<p>“So strong, Rey, y’r strong an’ I’m not and y’r so beautiful, like the sun...” words just tumbled out of his mouth, uncontrollably. It was like the sickness had removed all filters from his brain. Rey didn’t respond to this, just took his blankets and rearranged them once more, a sad look in her eyes. She went over to the trolley and wheeled it to him, opening the doors and pulling out several items. One was another folded blanket, which she added to the pile already covering him. Next came what looked like a piece of medical equipment, possibly a diagnostic unit, which she used to slowly scan his body from head to toe. </p>
<p>“Just as I thought,” she said after examining the screen, “the Supreme Leader has a cold. Don’t worry, it’s not going to kill you, although going by the way you’re gibbering, you might wish it would.” As she spoke she set the device aside, and looked him over. “Just... if you could just roll onto your back, and hold still for a few moments...” he did this, obediently. To his shock, Rey reached over and undid the first few buttons of his sleeping shirt, pulling back the fabric and exposing his chest to the cool air. The shiver that ran through him wasn’t entirely because of the cool air hitting his skin. Rey turned back to the cart and, businesslike, began to peel off the backing of what looked like a large bacta patch. She reached over and smoothed it onto his chest, hands making sure that the adhesive stuck properly, and lighting a fire under his skin on every place they touched. </p>
<p>It was all too much for Kylo, the intensity of the contact overwhelming. Both hands came up to hold hers in place, grasping her by the wrists as her palms pressed against his chest. She froze, not fighting against him, her eyes wide. They stared into each other’s eyes for what felt like an eternity, Kylo’s hands still holding hers, until she gently tugged against them. He let go, feeling bereft as they slid through his hands, fingertips warm against his. Rey cleared her throat and began to fidget with his blankets, drawing them back up and over his abdomen and chest. Kylo could see that her face flamed red and that she no longer met his eyes, and a small smile curled the corner of his mouth. </p>
<p>“Are you hungry at all?” The question startled him, coming out of nowhere. “I ordered some broth but I didn’t know if you’d be hungry, so I requested it in a thermal container, and it’ll stay warm for a while if you want to sleep first, but I didn’t know if the bond would end and I’d be back at the base so...” her words cut off when Ben fumbled for one of her hands, holding it to a hot cheek.</p>
<p>“Y’r so good t’me. Love you.”</p>
<p>The sharp intake of breath echoed around the room, and Kylo couldn’t understand why Rey suddenly turned pale, and then crimson red. </p>
<p>“Now I know you’re delirious.” She tugged her hand out of his grasp once more, this time a little more forceful, and began fidget with a thermal container. Her hands shook slightly, and when the lid finally came off, a little of the steaming broth spilled down the sides of it. Hurriedly she placed it down and retrieved a cloth napkin, using it to mop up the mess. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Rey muttered this, almost under her breath, but Kylo still heard it.</p>
<p>“‘Course y’ do. Y’love me too. Saw it. Saw <i>you</i>.” His voice became urgent with the need to express himself. “Saw you.” </p>
<p>“I... you made your choice, didn’t you? Chose this,” she waved a hand vaguely around the room, “over me. I didn’t want to be with the supreme leader. I just wanted Ben.” Her words cut, and he felt them slice through his soul. </p>
<p>“Just want’d you. Still do. Always will.” He reached over and put the lid firmly on the container, using that hand to push the cart away slightly. “Just you.” </p>
<p>“Ben,” her brows were drawn down over wet eyes, her voice strangled. “You know it can’t... we can’t... it should never have...” for the third time that night, he grasped one of her hands in his. This time he put it back on his chest, over his heart, letting her feel how it thundered beneath her palm. Rey glanced down at it, then back into his face, confusion written on her own. </p>
<p>“When y’r not here, feels like it stops. When m’near you, comes back t’life.” A wave of exhaustion swept over him, and his jaw cracked in a massive yawn. “Tired.” </p>
<p>Rey took this as a dismissal and went to stand, but as she did so, Kylo tugged her wrist sharply, causing her balance to shift. She tumbled forwards, landing half across his body, driving the air from his lungs. Still he didn’t let her go </p>
<p>“Stay. Please. Just f’r a lil’ longer.” He released her then, waiting to see what Rey would do. After a moment she shifted, grumbling a little, but shuffled herself off him and onto the far side of the bed. Ben lifted the covers and trapped her beneath them, pulling her onto her side and into his body as she muffled a shriek. She fit perfectly, like he’d always known she would, her back curved against his stomach, her head fitting just below his chin, knees tucked in behind her legs. Another wave of sleep washed over him, this one tinged with perfect bliss, and he allowed himself to surrender to it. </p>
<p>He was drifting away, supremely content, when he thought he heard her whisper. </p>
<p>“Sleep well, Ben.”</p>
<p>________________________________</p>
<p>When the Supreme Leader of the Galaxy woke the next morning, he was somewhat congested, fever-free, and very disoriented. The events of the night before came flooding back to him, and his hands patted over the empty space in front of him. The mattress where she had lain was still warm. The trolley remained where he had pushed it the night before. </p>
<p>It seemed the bacta had done its job, fighting any infection and helping boost his strength almost back to normal. He placed his hands over his chest, remembering the warmth and care of her hands, her eyes, her body. A smile crept over his face, and remained in place as he got up, washed, dressed, and went about his day. </p>
<p>It stayed the entire day, under the mask, unseen by everyone.</p>
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